Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. I should add in preface that the minister went to the west coast and had met with numbers of representatives of all segments of the fisheries industry before his departure and has been meeting since. He had several meetings today.
The parliamentary secretary for the past month has met with all three fisher groups, seiners, gill netters, trollers in Vancouver, members of the processing plant, the coastal communities and the union. The parliamentary secretary addressed the union at large
meeting and met with the executive and addressed the coastal communities. There has been an extensive contact with what are called the stakeholders in this very important national asset.
The government recognizes, and this is part of this extensive dialogue occurring and the reason for it, the Pacific salmon revitalization strategy is all about conserving the precious salmon resources and ensuring the sustainability and viability of the commercial salmon fishery in British Columbia.
The fishing capacity of the commercial fleet far exceeds what is required to harvest the available resource and this situation is putting the conservation of the stocks at risk. No one, including critics of the strategy, disputes the fleet is too large and needs to be reduced.
The revitalization plan is based on recommendations from a Pacific policy round table of some 70 salmon stakeholder representatives as well as the recommendations of the Fraser River Sockeye Public Review Board which identified various problems undermining salmon conservation efforts.
Overcapitalization of the commercial harvesting sector was one of the key problems identified by the review board. The round table strongly recommended the fleet be reduced and the action be taken before the 1996 fishing season.
The revitalization plan includes a federal government funded $80 million licence retirement program and licensing policy changes that are expected to contribute toward a 50 per cent reduction in the fleet over time.
The licence retirement program will expire at the end of June. It is a short term initiative to kick start the fleet reduction, but it is only a start. It is expected to remove no more than 20 per cent of the existing 4,400 licences. Other licensing measures are expected to remove a further 20 per cent to 25 per cent of the fleet over time.
Concerns have been expressed about the impact of the fleet reduction on coastal communities. It must be said that the future of those coastal communities that are highly dependent on the salmon fishery is not secure unless the salmon stocks are robust and the harvesting industry is viable, which has clearly not been the case in recent years. The revitalization strategy is necessary to give those communities a solid basis for future viability and prosperity.
In meetings last week in Vancouver and again this week in Ottawa with representatives of various stakeholder groups, the minister indicated that he was prepared to consider what he has phrased as fine tuning adjustments to the strategy, although the core elements of the strategy plan will remain intact. An announcement by the minister is expected shortly.